Friendship is Constant
by Vanadis-the-Ascendant
Summary: A collection of one-shots from the time of the Marauders.
1. Much Ado About Snape

Friendship is Constant

A.N. Written for 'The If You Dare Challenge' using the prompt 'Shakespeare'. All characters and locations are the property of J.K. Rowling and some of Remus' dialogue is taken from Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare.

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Remus looked out of the dormitory window and sighed. Tomorrow night would be his first full moon at Hogwarts and he was terrified. For once, James and Peter were actually doing their homework, and Sirius was elsewhere, presumably in detention, so there was nothing to distract him from the impending transformation. He sighed again, glancing over at his new friends to see if either had noticed. As they had not, he reached over to his bedside table and picked up a book. His friends had teased him for bringing such a large book to school, and a muggle one at that, but at least the complete works of Shakespeare should keep him occupied until the end of term. Well, at least until the end of the month.

He opened the book to his favourite of the plays and began to read, soon forgetting his worries. Partway through act one, Sirius stormed into the room sporting a nose three times its usual size. Remus, James and Peter all looked up and immediately burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter. Sirius glared at them until they eventually calmed down.

"What happened?" Peter asked, voice shaking with barely-suppressed giggles.

"Snape happened," Sirius replied. "That absolute _git _put something on my handkerchief while we were in detention, then purposely waved a feather duster – which was filthy, mind you – right in my face so I had to sneeze and so obviously I had to use the handkerchief and I got this weird potion all over my nose and Slughorn thought I was pulling a prank so he didn't even punish him!"

"Mate, stop. Calm down. Take a breath before you pass out or something," James said. Sirius ignored him and continued on his tirade.

"That's when my nose started to swell up and it was still covered in this disgusting greasy potion stuff and obviously I got a bit freaked out and I dropped the cleaning solution I was using all over the floor and Slughorn made me clean it all up on top of everything else I had to clean and then he gave me _another _detention for trying to get out of this one even though I wasn't trying to get out of it!"

"Maybe you should go up to the hospital wing?" Remus said tentatively. Again, Sirius wasn't paying any attention.

"I can't even go up to the hospital wing because I can't let anyone see me like this! My beautiful face is ruined and if I can't go to the hospital wing I can't get it fixed and so I'll never be able to go out of the dorm again, not even for food and classes and while I don't mind missing classes I actually quite like food and you can make sure you tell everyone to blame Snivellus when I waste away and die because I couldn't go out to get food!"

By this point, no-one was listening any more. James and Peter had both left the room; James to take a shower and Peter to return the library book he was using. Remus had gone back to reading his book, where the monologues were far easier to understand. Suddenly, he thought of something that might just make Sirius pay attention.

"I bet this is all because we said Snivellus had a huge, greasy nose yest-" Sirius continued to rant, until Remus interrupted him.

"I wonder that you will still be talking, Signor Sirius. Nobody marks you." Sirius looked at his friend in confusion.

"What in Merlin's name are you on about? You're not even taking me seriously," he said, eyeing Remus as though worried he had gone mad.

"Is it possible disdain should die, while she hath such meet food to feed it as Signor Sirius? Courtesy itself must convert to disdain if you come in her presence," Remus continued to read aloud from his book.

"Remus, will you stop talking like an idiot? I can't tell you about Snape while you're acting all weird" Sirius complained, looking rather annoyed with this turn of events.

"A dear happiness to mankind. They would else have been troubled with an annoying tirade. I thank God and my cold blood I am of your humour in that. I had rather hear a dog bark at a crow than a man talk about Snape." Remus had to improvise slightly, but felt he'd done rather well.

Sirius shook his head, trying to figure out what his friend was talking about. He quickly gave up and decided to continue complaining about his unfortunate incident.

"Remus, you don't understand! He's made my nose three times it's normal size!" he said, gesturing wildly at his face and hit himself in the aforementioned appendage. Remus snickered, Sirius was playing right into his hands. This was almost too easy.

"Swelling could not make it worse an 'twere such a face as yours were." Sirius glared at him. Remus might be using outdated language, but Sirius knew when he was being insulted.

"At least I don't insult people who are already upset!" he shouted. Remus felt a little guilty, but still couldn't resist speaking the next line.

"A bird of my tongue is better than a beast of yours." Sirius threw himself onto his bed, giving up entirely on the conversation. Remus grinned, satisfied that his plan had worked. As he was not entirely heartless, he walked over to Sirius' bed and placed the book next to his head, making sure it was a safe distance away and wouldn't end up coated in greasy potion.

"You always end in a sulk. I know you of old" he said, returning to his bed. Sirius raised his head slightly and glanced at the book, then pulled it closer as he started reading properly. Slowly, a grin appeared on his face, which sadly only caused his nose to spread out more.

"If I didn't know you would kill me I'd throw this book at you," Sirius said, flicking through the pages.

"Don't even joke about that," Remus warned, but he was smiling nonetheless.

"Can I borrow this?" Sirius asked, absorbed in a page of The Winter's Tale. Remus quickly considered some of the events of that play, particularly those involving a bear.

"I think that would be a bad plan, don't you?" He took the book back, locking it in his trunk for safe-keeping until Sirius had forgotten all about it. He briefly mourned the loss of his book, realising that without something to entertain him he'd probably be forced to join in the pranks his friends pulled. There are worse things, he thought, smiling to himself.


	2. Wish Upon a Star

A.N. This has been written for 'The If You Dare Competition' using the prompt 'wish upon a star'. All characters and locations are the property of J.K. Rowling.

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Please leave me a review and let me know if you liked it or not, and what could be improved. I am intending to write about five scenes, possibly more, for each school year of the Marauders, and possibly some during the first war. If there's anything you'd like to see, let me know in the reviews and I'll see if I can work it in.

"What do you mean you haven't got anything to wear?" James asked. About two feet of snow had fallen overnight and, like everyone else, he was desperate to get outside and play. Unfortunately, Sirius was stubbornly refusing, insisting he had no clothes suitable for playing in snow.

"I mean exactly what I said," Sirius replied, not quite meeting James' eyes. "I haven't got any clothes that are appropriate for this weather. Go find Peter, I'm sure he'll go with you."

"You mean to tell me mummy never bought you any? I mean, you've got everything else you could possibly want, and a whole heap of stuff that no-one has ever wanted, obviously you've got winter clothes!" James was getting angry. If Sirius didn't want to play he could just say so, rather than make up this silly lie. They were supposed to be friends. Obviously he had winter clothes, so why would he say he didn't? It was silly and pointless and James was insulted that Sirius would think him stupid enough to believe it.

Sirius glared but said nothing. James, fed up, walked out of the door, pulling it closed behind him to make it perfectly clear that Sirius was no longer welcome to join him. In the common room, he found Peter and Remus working on their herbology assignment. On a Saturday! James felt rather ill just thinking about doing homework before the very last minute.

"Remus, Pete, want a snowball fight?" James asked. Peter nodded his head emphatically and Remus closed the book he was working from, looking resigned but smiling nonetheless.

"I suppose we're due a break from this," Remus said. "We'll just go get our cloaks." When the boys returned in their outdoor clothes, James felt a fresh wave of anger at Sirius' lies. Remus' cloak was clearly completely unsuitable for the snow; it was old and worn and was clearly second-hand. How dare Sirius complain about his clothing, always pristine and new and probably made from the highest-quality material by the best designers.

"Hey, what's up with Sirius?" Peter asked tactlessly. "He's up there sulking and when I asked him to come with us he just said something about clothes."

"We don't want him to come with us," James replied. "He's a prat." Peter opened his mouth to say something else, but quickly closed it again at one look from James and followed him silently out of the portrait hole.

When the three boys returned to their dormitory, Sirius was nowhere to be seen. Good riddance, James thought to himself. Sirius didn't show himself in the Great Hall at dinner either, and by the time curfew had been and gone, James was starting to feel a little worried.

"What exactly happened with Sirius earlier," Remus suddenly asked, putting his book down beside him on the bed. Peter twitched slightly in his sleep, but didn't wake.

"I asked him if he wanted to go out and play in the snow," James replied quietly, glancing across to Peter's bed. "He obviously didn't want to, but he wouldn't just come out and say it. He was making this stuff up about how he's got no clothes he can wear in the snow, but it was so obviously a lie. I mean, look at all the stuff he's got! Clearly he's not gone twelve years with no winter clothes." Remus thought for a moment before replying.

"Maybe he wasn't lying, James," Remus said. When James looked annoyed, he carried on. "I mean, he's always wearing his school robes. To be honest, I don't think I've ever seen him wear anything else. Have you?" James thought back over the last few months. He couldn't actually remember seeing Sirius out of his uniform, even at the weekends. He stood up, walked across to Sirius' trunk and unceremoniously threw open the lid. Inside was a large pile of robes, some of which was obviously designed for winter wear. However, when James inspected them closely, they were clearly unsuitable for playing in snow. The delicate stitching would be ruined by the perpetual dampness; these robes had not been created with childish play in mind. Every item of clothing that was not part of the school uniform was in various combinations of black, silver and green, the Slytherin colours most of his family would be proud to wear.

James felt incredibly guilty. Sirius hadn't been lying to him. Admittedly he had omitted the reason that his clothes were unsuitable for playing in the snow, but he hadn't outright lied. He returned to his own bed and pulled the invisibility cloak out from under his pillow.

"I'm going to find him," James said.

"Do you want company?" Remus asked.

"No thanks," James replied, pulling the cloak over himself. "I'd better go by myself. If someone's watching I'm never going to manage to be serious when I apologise."

James exited the tower, wondering where Sirius would have gone. Nowhere patrolled by the prefects, obviously. He checked the kitchens first, but he wasn't there. The elves said he'd been there through dinner but had left just before curfew. When James asked if they knew where he was going, one elf told him that Sirius had been talking about playing in the snow. It was a long shot, but James didn't have any better ideas. He thanked the elves for their help and made his way outside.

If Sirius was out here, he wouldn't have stayed near the castle where he could be spotted. James decided to walk down to the quidditch pitch, definitely Sirius' favourite place on the Hogwarts grounds. His hunch turned out to be correct. As he approached, he could make out the shape of a young boy sitting in the snow. He was wearing his thin school robes, as he always did, and was shivering in the night air.

As James crept closer he could hear Sirius talking to himself. He stopped and listened, hoping to gauge Sirius' mood before he made his way over.

"Just once, I wish someone would look at me and just see me. Not the little rich heir, not the Slytherin in the wrong house, but just me. Everyone always ends up hating me, but they never even know me properly. My parents hate me because I'm in Gryffindor, and now James hates me because he thinks I'm a liar. He's probably told the others, and now they'll hate me too. I wish I could show them what I'm really like."

James had heard enough. He took off the invisibility cloak and crossed the pitch to Sirius' side, sitting down next to him. He unfastened the heavy winter cloak he was wearing and shoved it at Sirius.

"Put this on," James said. "You're going to freeze to death out here without one." Sirius stared at him, but did not take the cloak, so James threw it over his head. Sirius pulled it into his lap, still not saying anything.

"Look," James began. "I'm sorry, okay? I know you weren't lying. Remus knows too, and all I told Peter is that you're a prat, and let's face it, he knew that already." He glanced at Sirius and saw that he was smiling. "What were you doing out here anyway? Talking to yourself?" When Sirius didn't immediately answer James sighed and pushed him over into the snow. Emotional stuff wasn't something he was good at, but pranks were something he could do.

Once Sirius had recovered and sat up again, James opened his mouth to continue, only to find it suddenly full of snow, courtesy of the wonderfully-timed snowball Sirius had just thrown. He spluttered as Sirius laughed, looking more-or-less back to his normal self. James tried to control himself enough to speak.

"I heard you, you know," James said. "You were saying you want people to know who you really are. So why not start by telling me what that was all about?" For a moment, it didn't look like Sirius was going to answer, but then he appeared to change his mind.

"Do you know anything about muggle fairy tales?" Sirius asked. James shook his head. "My Uncle Alphard used to tell me them. Muggles say that if you wish on a star it'll come true," Sirius explained. "So when I was a kid, whenever I wanted something to come true badly enough, I'd go outside and find the dog star, the one I'm named after, and I'd make a wish. Never worked before, but I figure if I keep trying one day it's going to work."

James, a little uncomfortable with the personal nature of the conversation, stood up suddenly. He offered Sirius a hand and pulled him to his feet.

"Come on,"James said. "put that cloak on and let's get back to the dorm."

By the time they returned, Remus and Peter were both fast asleep. They changed into their pyjamas and climbed into their beds. James watched as Sirius took off the cloak he had given to him and hung it up, rather than just throwing it on the floor as they all usually did with their clothes.

"Hey, Sirius?" James said, getting the other boy's attention. "You don't need a star to make us like you. You managed that one all by yourself."


	3. Peter and the Elf

A.N. This has been written for 'The If You Dare Competition' using the prompt 'food'. All characters and locations are the property of J.K. Rowling.

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Peter walked through the corridors of Hogwarts, glancing over his shoulder every few minutes. Despite being covered by James' invisibility cloak he didn't feel particularly safe wandering around while everyone else was in the dorms. He fought the instinct to stick to the shadows and tried to stride purposefully, but that only resulted in falling over his own feet. Quickly scrambling upright again, heart racing, he pulled the cloak tightly around him and resumed walking at a steady pace, keeping an eye out for any sign of Filch.

It wasn't often he was trusted enough to make a kitchen run on his own. Usually he was accompanied by Remus, but since he'd returned from visiting his sick mother the night before he'd not looked very well himself and the others had stayed behind in case he needed to talk. Peter hoped the food would make him feel a little better. Being very close to his own mother, Peter could imagine how upset Remus must be feeling. Still, he couldn't deny that he quite enjoyed the times when Remus wasn't around. James and Sirius paid him far more attention when it was just the three of them. As much as he liked Remus, he wasn't as impressive a friend as James or Sirius and he desperately wanted to become closer to the two boys.

Upon reaching the kitchens, Peter pushed open the portrait concealing the door and revelled in the attitude of the house elves. Being bowed to and referred to as 'Master' made him feel very important and powerful. It was the only reason he agreed to collect the food alone. James and Remus treated the elves very politely and while Sirius regarded them as beneath him he still treated them with civility. Peter, however, knew the house elves existed solely to serve wizards and fully believed that they should not be spoken to as though they were equals.

"Get me some food," Peter commanded of the nearest elf.

"Yes master, what can we be getting for master tonight?" it asked.

"I want some sandwiches and cakes. Oh, and a jug of pumpkin juice. Enough of everything for four people," Peter replied. When the food wasn't placed in front of him immediately he clapped his hands twice. "Chop chop. I haven't got all night you know." The house elf scurried across the kitchen with a package of food and a jug and handed them to Peter. As he took the parcel, his hand brushed against the elf's. He jerked his hand away, staring at the small creature in disgust.

"How dare you?" he said in a low voice. "A house elf should _never_ touch a wizard without permission!" The elf's ears drooped.

"Plinky is most sorry, master. It won't happen again," it squeaked, backing away slightly.

"You make sure it doesn't. Learn your place, elf," Peter said, and walked confidently out of the room. Stowing the food parcel in his bag and holding the jug carefully, he threw the invisibility cloak back over his head and hurried back to Gryffindor Tower, almost skipping with elation. This must be how James and Sirius feel every day, he thought to himself. One day, I'll be just as important and powerful as them, and then people will treat me with respect, he vowed to himself.


End file.
